Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Just like you and me.

I was thinking I might try to post at least one cover a day this month, but figured I'd post a bunch of songs now in case I backpedal.

The Avalanches "Do you Know the Way to San Jose" (comp. Burt Bacharach)I think this is a "totally love" or "totally hate" it track, and I'm in the former category. I'm a huge Bacharach fan, but must admit that even some of my favorite Bacharach covers are terribly run-of-the-mill. The last thing I'd expect to hear in a DYKTWTSJ cover is a lick from My Bloody Valentine's "I Only Said," and I approve.

Brewer & Shipley "All Along the Watchtower" (Bob Dylan cover)I've been in a strange '70s folk phase lately, and this is a product of that.

Floppy "Radiostar No Higeki (Video Killed the Radio Star)" (Japanese Buggles cover)There are so many covers of this out there and I've posted a few. This isn't my favorite of the lotthat honor belongs to Hi-Posi's version (I know I don't often repost songs, but what the heck?)but it's a bouncy little novelty.

Built to Spill "I Try" (Macy Gray cover)The other day a thought popped in my head: I used to be mildly obsessed with Built to Spill yet couldn't remember the last time I listened to anything by them. Granted, I was jonesing for their non-cover work, but I still thought I'd share a cover today.

Collide "The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)" (Fun Boy Three cover)I bought a used copy of Fun Boy Three's first LP and haven't been able to get this song out of my head since. But it's better than other recent earworms of mine. (See below.)

George White Group "Gypsy Woman" (Crystal Waters cover)One of my most-hated hits of the '90s. I can almost listen to it now without retching. This version annoys me far less, but it still gets the grating original suck in my head.

Grizzly Bear "He Hit Me (It Felt Like a Kiss)" (The Crystals cover)I shared a video of this the other day, and a few readers have clamored for an MP3 version. This is not from the same performance as that in the video, but I hope it will suffice. BTW: I think you should buy Grizzly Bear's album because it's brilliant.

Jesper Henriksen "Try Again" (Aaliyah cover)A weird kismet hit the other day when reader Lyss sent me an e-mail pointing me to this track on Jesper's MySpace a mere hour or two after I'd downloaded it somewhere else. And there are few things I like more than a good sexy R&B jam in acoustic cover form by someone from Scandinavia.

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Disclaimers/Reminders:

1. MP3s on this blog are available for a short time and are here for sampling purposes only. My only goal is to share my love/hate relationship with cover songs and to turn readers on to artists of whom they might not have otherwise been aware. If you are the creator or copyright owner of a song or anything else that might be posted here, please CONTACT ME by sending an e-mail (see above) if you wish to have it removed.

2. PLEASE don't direct link to any individual tracks. If you like an artist you hear here (either the original artist or the one performing the cover), you should definitely do your best to take the knowledge you gain here and go out and BUY THEIR ALBUMS.

3. I very rarely, if ever, repost songs. If you missed something, I apologize, but I get lots of e-mails from people asking me to repost things. If I actually reposted all the tracks people wanted me to, I'd never get a chance to post anything new. That said, if there is A TRACK OR TWO you feel you desperately need, feel free to drop me a line at liza.copyright @ gmail.com (sans spaces) and I'll do my best to get it to you. But please keep in mind that it might not be instantaneous, as I get approximately 600 e-mails a week.

4. If you read my updates via an RSS feed aggregator or via a LiveJournal feed, there will be times when old posts will suddenly appear with non-working links, which happens as a result of my going back to an older entry to remove the links or to update or edit the post in any way. Again, I apologize if you missed these posts initially, but I cannot repost the songs. Lately I've been keeping songs up for two weeks to a month and I feel that should be plenty of time for you to get the songs. If you don't read your feeds often and regularly miss tracks, I suggest you bookmark the site and check it once a week or so.

5. I do not generally take requests nor do I guarantee that songs submitted to me will appear here. You're welcome to send me a track or two, but it might not hit the blog. Also, I get LOTS of e-mail so submissions sent via sites like YouSendIt or Dropload.com often expire by the time I get to them. Please attach your files to the actual e-mail if you want to ensure I get it. Similarly, I'd really appreciate it if those of you sending MP3s to my inbox would check to see whether or not I've already posted the tracks first. There is a search bar in the upper left corner of the site that should assist you in said endeavor. Granted, chances are good that even if I've not posted it, I already have it, but at least there's a chance I don't.

6. If you're looking for a few suggestions on beginning your own cover hunts, here is an old entry that might prove helpful.

7. If you are a member or agent of a band, please keep in mind that I ONLY POST COVER SONGS. Similarly, I do not "review" albums. I will most likely delete and ignore any communication from you that shows you do not understand this.